Pep’s Presser: No new injury concerns, Guardiola expects open encounter

Manchester City will be positive about their chances to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after seeing off Monaco with a 5-3 win only two weeks ago. The encounter at the Etihad was certainly another European night to remember, with City scoring four goals in under thirty minutes to overcome a 3-1 deficit.

The upcoming clash in the relatively small Stade Louis-II (18,523 seats) grants room for excitement, with Monaco being in astonishing form, leading Ligue 1 with nine matches to go and 84 goals scored after only 29 domestic games played. City are certainly not going to hide either after beating Boro in convincing fashion at the weekend, with David Silva and Kun Aguero both getting on the scoresheet.

At today’s pre-match press conference, Guardiola mentioned that City would be punished by Monaco if the Blues sat back. The manager emphasised the quality of Monaco’s offensive line, built around Colombia superstar and captain Radamel Falcao, who also scored twice in the first match between the two sides. Pep subsequently expects a fierce, open encounter.

Monaco is going to miss Polish international Kamil Glik, who is going to sit out the game due to too many accumulated bookings. Glik has been pivotal at centre-back for the AS this year, forming a solid defence with his Brazilian counterpart Jemerson. It is not yet clear if Falcao is going to be fit in time, but both Gabriel Boschilia and Guido Carrillo are going to miss the match, yet neither of them were starters to begin with.

Long-term absentees Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gündogan are the only ones missing for the Blues.